Ivan T. Sanderson on the Long John Nebel Show, 1956

Ivan Sanderson

Ivan T. Sanderson is best known as the man who coined the term, cryptozoology -- the study of unknown animals -- but he also founded SITU, the Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained.

Here, he discusses his theory of UFOs as biological entities on the Long John Nebel Show in November of 1956.  Sanderson frequented the radio show throughout the 1960s, but this is probably his best known appearance.

Ivan T. Sanderson died in 1973, but his legacy lives on in the numerous books he penned on the paranormal and cryptozoological, as well as travel, zoology, and more.  Sanderson's SITU is still around, as well.

© The Weirding, 2019

Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained (SITU)

SITU

Founded by Ivan T. Sanderson, the man who coined the term "cryptozoology," the Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained was established as a non-profit organization in 1965.  Its purpose was "...the acquisition, investigation and dissemination of information on reports of all tangible items in the fields of chemistry, astronomy, geology, biology and anthropology, that are not readily explained."

The Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained published its findings on investigations into the anomalous in its unscheduled quarterly, Pursuit Journal (of the Society of the Unexplained).  Their research board included at least a dozen, noted scientists of various fields.  The Pursuit Journal only lasted a few years.  Sanderson died in 1973, and the organization originally disbanded in the 1980s.  A Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained apparently exists in Baltimore, but its statement of purpose is quite different, and may not be connected to Sanderson's.

Ivan Sanderson published numerous books and articles under two different names regarding a diverse number of subjects, and was considered skeptical of the paranormal.  One researcher posted that a cache of SITU materials had been discovered, but little information has since come to light.  Ivan Sanderson coined the term "cryptozoology."

© The Weirding, 2016